Expert says downtown can support more business

Robert Gibbs of Gibbs Planning Group in Birmingham, MI. left, walks across Southwest Broadway Street as he talks with Tom McDonald, one of the owners, at Pi on Broadway on Southwest Broadway Street in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013. Gibbs is consulting with downtown businesses about how to improve their shops to improve sales. On Wednesday and Thursday, Gibbs will visit 12 to 15 stores in downtown Ocala to let them know how they can make more money.

Published: Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 6:21 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 6:21 p.m.

Ocala's downtown can support 25 to 40 new stores, or about 90,000 additional square feet of commercial space, which could generate an estimated $28.6 million more in sales each year, Robert Gibbs told downtown business owners Wednesday. And that could grow to $30 million in additional sales by 2017.

That additional space does not have to be new shops or restaurants. It could be expansions of existing businesses, he said.

The city of Ocala hired the Gibbs Planning Group, out of Birmingham, Mich., to complete a $30,000 market analysis of the downtown area. He addressed the business owners Wednesday morning at IHMC.

"You are the ‘X Factor' where people will drive further if you meet them halfway," Gibbs said. "You have to give them what they want."

The "X Factor" is an authentic historic downtown. Shoppers and national retailers and hotels are seeking to locate in historic downtowns, Gibbs said. But when national companies are looking to locate, they want assurances that if they invest $2 million in restoring a space there are standards — sign ordinances and building codes — in place that neighboring businesses also would uphold.

Gibbs said Wall Street will tell national retailers how many more shops they need to open a year to keep their stock prices up. Those retailers then contact brokers, who have lists of sites.

"Ocala is not part of that loop," Gibbs said.

He said that to be part of that system, Ocala has to have connections with the retailers or national builders.

"We think there are a lot of regional and national stores that would like to be in Ocala," Gibbs said. "They love historic towns."

He said to get people to "Main Street" you have to advertise, and from Main Street, you have to get them in the stores and, once in the stores, you have to get them to buy.

He said shoppers — and that includes tourists — are drawn to brands they know and like. And they like bargains, so shops should always have at least five items on sale and should advertise those sales.

Gibbs said Ocala's downtown could support about 17,000 square feet of department store-type goods, 20,000 square feet of apparel, 25,000 square feet of restaurant space, 5,800 square feet of jewelry, 6,800 square feet of electronics and books and the like, and 4,400 square feet of specialty food shops. He said there is a demand for five to six new restaurants.

Gibbs discussed how shopping trends have changed and how today's consumer does not have time to spend hours shopping, how shopkeepers can make shops more enticing and what will repel a shopper. He said 75 percent of sales last year were after 5:30 p.m.

He said Ocala is probably capturing about 2 to 3 percent of the market share. At one time, downtowns, like Ocala, had 80 percent of the market share.

Historically, he said, downtowns had major department stores. Today, town centers have about a 7 percent share, the Internet has about 9 percent, regional shopping about 31 percent and power malls about 37 percent. He said the Internet could expand trade.

Parking is critical, Gibbs said. People want to park in front of a store, run in and buy what they need and leave. He said most are willing to pay the cost of easy-to-operate parking meters but do not like paying parking tickets. He said parking garages are good for office workers and long-term users but they need to be free or very inexpensive. He said there are people who would rather walk a block if they can park free rather than pay for a garage space.

Gibbs showed examples of shops and malls that have succeeded and others that have failed.

He said rents are generally 10 percent of sales. So, if one is paying $8 a square foot for rent, one should have sales of $80 per square foot. He said most of the town centers that fail do so because they are elaborate and overbuild and the tenants cannot afford the rents.

He said it does not have to cost a lot of money to attract more customers. It can be something as simple as washing windows or painting a front door, or rearranging goods for a more attractive display as well as having attracting store windows so goods can be seen easily from the street.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gibbs gave in-store consultations to five downtown businesses and will critique seven more today.

At the Marketplace on Broadway clothing store, Gibbs suggested to owner Mary Stevens that she may want to make changes to lighting and, perhaps, paint one of the walls a different color. He also suggested she may want to fold some of the women's clothing and place it on a table as customers walk in rather than display them on racks. He suggested, too, that she may wish to get rid of a gumball machine at the front of the store and place some smaller merchandise in baskets.

He could not say enough good things about her inventory.

"She's got the right store and she has great merchandise," Gibbs said. "She's a good buyer. She knows what she is doing."

Gibbs also visited B-J Trophies off North Magnolia Avenue.

"We have a table that had close-out items," owner Floyd Hershberger said. "He suggested that we show our more high-end items in that position."

Gibbs also suggested that stickers from various organizations be removed from the front door.

"He suggested a darker color wall to display the items a little more attractively," Hershberger said.

And Gibbs found the outside of the building "too beige" and industrial looking and said that image could be changed with more color.

"He's right. In fact, we have talked about that in the past," said Hershberger, who said the critique was helpful. "It was good. I am very pleased that he was able to come by and see our place."

Although he would give an assessment later, Gibbs stopped in at Stella's Modern Pantry for a cool beverage.

"This is a great store," Gibbs said. "This is a combination of Whole Foods, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel, with a special Ocala mix."

Asked about his overall impression of Ocala's downtown area, he said, "You need to get into the 21st Century. Now you are stuck in 2000. A lot of the storefronts are tired. They need to be freshened up with color. Many of the storefront colors are boring."

Gibbs said he would be making suggestions to the city that might help the businesses. For shops on side streets, that might include installing corner poles on which to sell sign space to merchants that would direct customers to the shops.

The city does have a facade grant program that includes permanent interior improvements such as heating and ventilating systems for businesses in the downtown Community Redevelopment Area.

<p>Ocala's downtown can support 25 to 40 new stores, or about 90,000 additional square feet of commercial space, which could generate an estimated $28.6 million more in sales each year, Robert Gibbs told downtown business owners Wednesday. And that could grow to $30 million in additional sales by 2017.</p><p>"It's a pretty strong market," Gibbs said. "You could increase your size by about 50 percent."</p><p>That additional space does not have to be new shops or restaurants. It could be expansions of existing businesses, he said.</p><p>The city of Ocala hired the Gibbs Planning Group, out of Birmingham, Mich., to complete a $30,000 market analysis of the downtown area. He addressed the business owners Wednesday morning at IHMC.</p><p>"You are the 'X Factor' where people will drive further if you meet them halfway," Gibbs said. "You have to give them what they want."</p><p>The "X Factor" is an authentic historic downtown. Shoppers and national retailers and hotels are seeking to locate in historic downtowns, Gibbs said. But when national companies are looking to locate, they want assurances that if they invest $2 million in restoring a space there are standards — sign ordinances and building codes — in place that neighboring businesses also would uphold.</p><p>Gibbs said Wall Street will tell national retailers how many more shops they need to open a year to keep their stock prices up. Those retailers then contact brokers, who have lists of sites.</p><p>"Ocala is not part of that loop," Gibbs said.</p><p>He said that to be part of that system, Ocala has to have connections with the retailers or national builders.</p><p>"We think there are a lot of regional and national stores that would like to be in Ocala," Gibbs said. "They love historic towns."</p><p>He said to get people to "Main Street" you have to advertise, and from Main Street, you have to get them in the stores and, once in the stores, you have to get them to buy.</p><p>He said shoppers — and that includes tourists — are drawn to brands they know and like. And they like bargains, so shops should always have at least five items on sale and should advertise those sales.</p><p>Gibbs said Ocala's downtown could support about 17,000 square feet of department store-type goods, 20,000 square feet of apparel, 25,000 square feet of restaurant space, 5,800 square feet of jewelry, 6,800 square feet of electronics and books and the like, and 4,400 square feet of specialty food shops. He said there is a demand for five to six new restaurants.</p><p>Gibbs discussed how shopping trends have changed and how today's consumer does not have time to spend hours shopping, how shopkeepers can make shops more enticing and what will repel a shopper. He said 75 percent of sales last year were after 5:30 p.m.</p><p>He said Ocala is probably capturing about 2 to 3 percent of the market share. At one time, downtowns, like Ocala, had 80 percent of the market share.</p><p>Historically, he said, downtowns had major department stores. Today, town centers have about a 7 percent share, the Internet has about 9 percent, regional shopping about 31 percent and power malls about 37 percent. He said the Internet could expand trade.</p><p>Parking is critical, Gibbs said. People want to park in front of a store, run in and buy what they need and leave. He said most are willing to pay the cost of easy-to-operate parking meters but do not like paying parking tickets. He said parking garages are good for office workers and long-term users but they need to be free or very inexpensive. He said there are people who would rather walk a block if they can park free rather than pay for a garage space.</p><p>Gibbs showed examples of shops and malls that have succeeded and others that have failed.</p><p>He said rents are generally 10 percent of sales. So, if one is paying $8 a square foot for rent, one should have sales of $80 per square foot. He said most of the town centers that fail do so because they are elaborate and overbuild and the tenants cannot afford the rents.</p><p>He said it does not have to cost a lot of money to attract more customers. It can be something as simple as washing windows or painting a front door, or rearranging goods for a more attractive display as well as having attracting store windows so goods can be seen easily from the street.</p><p>On Wednesday afternoon, Gibbs gave in-store consultations to five downtown businesses and will critique seven more today.</p><p>At the Marketplace on Broadway clothing store, Gibbs suggested to owner Mary Stevens that she may want to make changes to lighting and, perhaps, paint one of the walls a different color. He also suggested she may want to fold some of the women's clothing and place it on a table as customers walk in rather than display them on racks. He suggested, too, that she may wish to get rid of a gumball machine at the front of the store and place some smaller merchandise in baskets.</p><p>He could not say enough good things about her inventory.</p><p>"She's got the right store and she has great merchandise," Gibbs said. "She's a good buyer. She knows what she is doing."</p><p>Gibbs also visited B-J Trophies off North Magnolia Avenue.</p><p>"We have a table that had close-out items," owner Floyd Hershberger said. "He suggested that we show our more high-end items in that position."</p><p>Gibbs also suggested that stickers from various organizations be removed from the front door.</p><p>"He suggested a darker color wall to display the items a little more attractively," Hershberger said.</p><p>And Gibbs found the outside of the building "too beige" and industrial looking and said that image could be changed with more color.</p><p>"He's right. In fact, we have talked about that in the past," said Hershberger, who said the critique was helpful. "It was good. I am very pleased that he was able to come by and see our place."</p><p>Although he would give an assessment later, Gibbs stopped in at Stella's Modern Pantry for a cool beverage.</p><p>"This is a great store," Gibbs said. "This is a combination of Whole Foods, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel, with a special Ocala mix."</p><p>Asked about his overall impression of Ocala's downtown area, he said, "You need to get into the 21st Century. Now you are stuck in 2000. A lot of the storefronts are tired. They need to be freshened up with color. Many of the storefront colors are boring."</p><p>Gibbs said he would be making suggestions to the city that might help the businesses. For shops on side streets, that might include installing corner poles on which to sell sign space to merchants that would direct customers to the shops.</p><p>The city does have a facade grant program that includes permanent interior improvements such as heating and ventilating systems for businesses in the downtown Community Redevelopment Area.</p><p><i>Contact Susan Latham Carr at 867-4156 or susan.carr@starbanner.com.</i></p>